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Man suspected of killing Russian pilot not to be freed in Turkish reform

About 38,000 inmates will be freed from prison under a reform in Turkey's legislation

ANKARA, August 18./TASS/. Alparslan Celik, the man suspected of the killing of the Russian Sukhoi-24 bomber’s pilot, Oleg Peshkov, will not be among the 38,000 inmates to be freed from prison within the framework of a reform in Turkey's legislation, Dogan news agency reports.

It said some 3,000 people would be set free at the first stage. Celik, who is a suspect in the case, will not be able to avail of this law, it said.

On Wednesday, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag tweeted that this measure was not an amnesty, and concerned only those convicted for the crimes committed before July 1, 2016.

It would be applied to inmates serving sentences for predetermined murders, production and trade with drugs, crimes aimed against security of the state and constitutional system, for leaking official secrets and for crimes covered by the law on fight against terrorism.

A group within the Turkish military attempted to stage a coup d’etat on July 15, using tanks and helicopters. The attempt was botched as the plotters failed to seize any senior government officials, or garner any major support among the Turkish military. More than 26,000 people have been detained within investigation into the coup attempt, 16,000 are under arrest.

On June 28, a court in the city of Izmir ruled that Alparslan Celik will remain in custody until June 8, 2017.